Forgotten
by HippoKrys
Summary: One-shot. Perhaps it's easier to believe in a lie than to uncover the truth. Modern AU.


Hinata looked at her watch as she raced down the street, the dry cleaner was closing in a few minutes and she wasn't sure if she'd make it in time. She had told her husband that she'd get his suit after work since he was going to need it for tomorrow, he had an important meeting with executives from the competing company hoping to form a joint venture of some sort, she wasn't too sure of the details but she knew he'd need his suit.

She ran across the street narrowly missing a few cars and flung the door to the cleaners, her long indigo hair in disarray, her blouse slightly disheveled.

"Uchiha-san you're just in the nick of time, you're a little later than usual but I kept the store open knowing that you'd walk through any second." The dry cleaner lady looked at her with a warm smile. Her gray hair tied in a tight bun, her short disposition along with the wrinkles decorating her face made the old lady look like the kind next door neighbor who'd give you cookies.

Hinata sighed contently. "Arigato Mori-san, you're a lifesaver." She took the suit and waved goodbye. "Sayonara." She left the store feeling relieved, she was lucky that Mori-san was such a kind lady.

She made her way across the city towards her penthouse apartment, she walked into the tall building and waved hello to the front desk and walked into the private elevator.

Once the elevator doors shut the smile on her face slipped off, she leaned against the wall and let out a sigh. "What a day," she mumbled to herself. Work had been particularly busy and hectic today, lots of phone calls, meetings, loose ends needing to be tied, and interviewing people. Working for the Tokyo office of the FBI was stressful for Hinata. She wasn't getting enough sleep lately adding to the stress and anxiety.

The door binged and opened; she walked in her home and took off her high heels. She made her way to the living room and noted it was empty, he wasn't home yet. She walked to her bedroom and hung the suit in the closet. Flopping herself on the bed she closed her eyes.

The past few weeks have been unusually stressful, she was sure her husband was also feeling as anxious as her, but he was usually good at hiding his uneasy feelings. It all started after the car crash three weeks ago, they had been coming home from eating out when a drunk driver had hit them.

She only vaguely remembers a bright light and a screech, than everything went black. She had then woken up in the hospital, severely injured, her husband was already conscious and sitting up in the bed beside her.

They had looked at each other, for a second she was drawing a blank on whom he was and that had terrified her. When it clicked that he was her husband she sighed out in relief, he also looked bothered but had finally smiled. He had gotten up and sat down on her bedside; he kissed her and told her he was glad she was alright. Such a simple gesture felt so normal, so expected, how could she have forgotten who he was? After that day everything went back to normal, well as normal as it could get. Hinata had hoped that everything would click back, that life would go on, but the car crash had changed them somehow.

The crash had left a visible mark on her, the doctors were baffled, the crash had caused her to lose all pigment in her eyes – beforehand she had gray-blue eyes, she now had pearly white ones. Surprisingly she didn't find them unsettling to look at, unlike her many coworkers who have a difficult time looking straight in her eyes. Her husband was less disturbed by it, in fact he was intrigued more than anything and personally he thought they looked alluring.

Besides her eyes she was in tip top shape, but at times she felt as though she was forgetting something important. She didn't have amnesia, or any memory loss according to the doctor. She had talked to her husband about it and he said that whatever it was if it was important she would eventually remember. Personally she wasn't too sure if she'd be able to remember or if it was permanently erased from her memory. Her husband, although a logical person, liked to comfort her even if it was telling her a false and hopeful lie: as long as she was satisfied and happy then he'd also be content. His personality was a paradox, a contradiction: logical and aloof yet compassionate and self-sacrificing.

Never the less after his comment she had also asked if by some chance he felt like he forgotten something. He had gone quiet and told her no. She had a feeling that he was keeping something from her.

There was a beeping sound, she looked up from her position on the bed and reached towards her discarded purse that lay beside her. She fished out her cell and noted a text message from a friend of hers; she didn't bother to respond and carelessly tossed the cell back in her purse.

She got up from the bed and ran a hand through her hair, she glanced at the time it flashed 6:07; she might as well make dinner now since she wasn't too sure what time he'd get back.

She made her way towards the kitchen, contemplating whether she should cook something or order out; she stopped and glanced to her left, looking outside the large windows overlooking the city. Hinata changed her trajectory, deciding to make dinner later. Standing in front of the balcony doors she slid them open and stepped on the large cement balcony. The cement was cool on her bare feet, the wind refreshing against her skin.

She walked to the ledge and leaned on the cement railing, looking at the city below. She noted how high up she was and wondered how long it would take for her to reach the ground if she jumped. She wasn't too sure what prompted such thought but lately she had been feeling quite strange, almost as if she was walking through a haze, simply going through the motions.

When did she start to feel this way? Well honestly, since the car crash and just as she feared her life didn't go back to normal. The first week was fine, but the last couple weeks Hinata slowly started to unravel: thoughts of something forgotten plaguing her mind preventing her from sleeping, feeling anxious and depressed, she was even becoming slightly paranoid always looking over her shoulder. So she simply went through the motion. Even her husband had been quite standoffish as of late.

He had been frequently absent, she wondered if he was having an affair, at that thought she didn't feel anything, no sense of betrayal or anger. Why? He was he husband and she loved him yet… all of this felt wrong somehow. Was their life a lie? Every memory was jumbled in her mind, flashes of faces she didn't know, or she thought she didn't know. The night of the crash was such a haze; she could scarcely remember the oncoming car or anything, only a bright light and a loud screeching sound. She remembered something though, an idea, a sentence, a promise…

"I'll find a way back…"

That sentence floated and plagued her mind. Go back where? She wondered. Where did this thought come from? She didn't recall saying that to anyone. She leaned over the ledge, and looked at the cars passing bellow. She got up on the ledge balancing herself on the cement railing, her toes curled at the ledge, her arms outstretched on each side. She closed her eyes and felt the wind whip her hair; she took a breath and calmed her thoughts. She felt so free, so liberated, at peace standing on the ledge.

Was this all a dream? Would she wake up if she jumped, like in a movie, at the last minute she'd wake up and realize everything was a lie – that she wasn't married, she didn't live in the dream home, that nothing was real. What if…

These thoughts had plagued her mind the past days preventing her from a restful night of sleep, making her tired and depressed. Her husband had noticed and tried to speak to her but she had remained quiet and put up a false smile to reassure him.

He knew though, he knew that there was something amiss in their lives but he opt to remain silent and that irritated Hinata.

She leaned forward, she knew there was a strong chance by doing so she'd lose balance and tumbled down towards the street below. As she did so a strong hand grabbed her arm holding her in place.

She snapped her eyes open and turned her head to the side, looking behind her from the corner of her eye. She saw him looking at her intensely; his dark eyes boring into her own white ones. Itachi…

"What are you doing?" he asked simply, his voice flat, his eyes betraying no emotion.

She looked away. "Th-Thinking," she stuttered, the first time in a long while.

They stood in silence, his hand still gripping her arm. She didn't look back instead she looked at the darkening sky. A moment later she heard a scuffled and the grip on her arm loosen. She glanced to the right and saw Itachi also standing beside her on the ledge. They stood side-by-side on the ledge, in silent contemplation.

"Are you having an affair? Is that why you're always late…?" she bluntly asked, breaking the comfortable stillness.

There was a long pause.

"… hai…"

"Oh."

What a lie, she knew he was lying, but why though? Did he not love her anymore so he made up an excuse to leave her? It was a lie, but why was he always late? Was he avoiding coming home?

She bit her lip and looked back down; she could feel tears trickling down her cheek. "I-I see." She did it again, why was she regressing in her old tendencies?

"Sumimasen," he took her hand and squeezed it.

"It's all a lie…" she paused and cocked her head to the side. "Yet I don't know why…" she looked at him, her eyes searching his for an answer. "Why are you lying?" she finally asked.

He stood silently; he looked down his eyes searching for something down bellow, perhaps for the truth as well. "It's difficult to explain why; I'm not too sure myself. I need to find answers first, I've been searching… I don't want to tell you anything before I find concrete answers. I lied because I don't want to burden you with unanswered questions. I told you what you expected to hear: an easy answer. It would have been simpler to believe it... but I should have known better. You're able to see through anything." He always had a valid and logical explanation for everything; he wasn't a genius for nothing. "We haven't been able to live normally together since the crash, perhaps it would be best if we took a break for while to sort things out."

She shook her head, she didn't want to leave him despite her inner turmoil. She wouldn't let him go. "I… I need to know. I can't go living like this, feeling as though everything is a lie. I feel as though there's something missing, that I should be somewhere doing something important, that people are waiting for me…" She looked at him, her eyes watery with unshed tears. "Wh-When I'm with you… you're stranger yet you're not."

He remained quiet; he stepped down and held his hand out waiting for her to also step down from the ledge. "You're right… that's why I'm searching for answers. I don't think these feelings I have are a lie, you can't fabric that."

It was times like these that Hinata was reminded that he was a romantic, an idealist.

She took his hand and stepped down, they stood facing each other. Taking a step forward her face was inches from his chest. She looked up.

Itachi was looking at her, he inclined his head and brought his hand up and gently held the back of her head as he kissed her, his other arm was circled around her waist.

Hinata encircled both arms around his neck, he gently tighten his arm around her waist and lifted her up the ground. With the patio door opened he easily carried her inside, once through he easily shut the door with his feet while he kissed and held her. He carried her to their bedroom and kicked the door close behind them.

What a lie...

* * *

AN - Song pairing: Let go by: Frou Frou


End file.
